9 Mothers
Buyer/Purchaser
Austin · Full-time
Sponsorship not specifiedDetected 8 hours ago
NegotiationSupply ChainProcurementERPPCB DesignRoboticsResearchLeadershipActuators
About the role
- Everything we ship starts with parts: custom electronics, machined metal, actuators, cables, and cameras, sourced from vendors we trust.
- That stops working the moment we move from prototype and small-run quantities into production - which is exactly where we are headed over the next 12 months.
- You will be our first dedicated buyer and, initially, a department of one.
Responsibilities
- Backed by top-tier investors, we develop AI powered machines designed to intercept and neutralize Group 1/sUAS threats in real-time.
- While others build for "awareness" or "long-term research," we build for the immediate survival of those in harm's way.
- 9 Mothers builds counter-UAS systems - robotic shotgun turret platforms and a proprietary belt-fed shotgun system.
Requirements
- 5+ years of procurement/purchasing experience for physical hardware products - robotics, defense, aerospace, automotive, industrial equipment, or similar electromechanical systems
- Experience buying across our categories: custom PCB assemblies, machined metal parts, actuators/motors, cable assemblies, and cameras or sensors
- US person (citizen or lawful permanent resident). required for ITAR compliance
- build and maintain a non-Chinese supply base with a strong preference for US vendors, verifying country of origin down to the component level where required
- you have found parts others couldn't (GPU modules, embedded compute, image sensors, or similar), and you know the authorized-distribution landscape, the broker market, and how to avoid counterfeits
Nice to have
- Experience in a defense or ITAR-regulated environment
- working familiarity with NDAA Section 889, country-of-origin verification, and government customer flow-downs
- Experience selecting or implementing an ERP/MRP system at a growing hardware company
- Existing relationships with electronics distributors (Arrow, Avnet, Digi-Key, Mouser, etc.), embedded-compute vendors, and domestic machine shops or contract manufacturers
- Experience with formal supplier qualification, supplier audits, or purchasing in an AS9100/ISO 9001 environment
- What Success Looks Like
- In the first 90 days, purchasing runs through you and nobody misses the old way: engineers hand you a part number or a drawing and parts show up on time.
- When we scale, purchasing is a reason we can - not a reason we can't.
Benefits
- Work with engineering on BOM health for production: component lifecycle and end-of-life monitoring, alternate qualification, and cost-down opportunities as volumes grow
Company info
- our supply base must exclude Chinese vendors, with a strong preference for US suppliers, and you own keeping it that way.
- Sourcing & Procurement (Primary)
- Select and stand up purchasing tooling - from spreadsheets that actually work today to an ERP/MRP system that supports production volumes
- Build and maintain the approved vendor list; work with engineering on part numbering, BOM hygiene, and approved alternates
- Transition the supply base from prototype and small-run buys to production purchasing: qualify vendors for volume, establish second sources for critical parts, and negotiate volume pricing, blanket orders, and scheduled releases
- Plan procurement against production build schedules - long-lead items ordered early, safety stock on allocation-risk parts, and no line-down surprises
- Essential Duties
- Source and purchase the full robotics bill of materials: custom electronics and PCB assemblies, CNC-machined metal parts, actuators and motors, cable assemblies, cameras and sensors, and supporting COTS hardware
- Hunt down hard-to-find and allocated electronics - NVIDIA Jetson modules, GPUs, image sensors - through authorized distribution, direct manufacturer relationships, and carefully vetted secondary-market channels, managing counterfeit risk and allocation constraints
- Run the quote-to-PO cycle: solicit and compare quotes, negotiate pricing, payment terms, and lead times, place purchase orders, and track and expedite deliveries against build schedules
- Own vendor selection within our trade-compliance constraints: build and maintain a non-Chinese supply base with a strong preference for US vendors, verifying country of origin down to the component level where required
- Building the Purchasing Function
- Define the company's purchasing processes from scratch: PO workflow and approvals, vendor onboarding and qualification, receiving and inspection handoff, and spend tracking
- Give the company visibility: report on spend, open orders, lead-time risk, and cost trends so engineering and leadership can plan around reality
Visa & Work Authorization
- US person (citizen or lawful permanent resident) — required for ITAR compliance
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This listing is sourced directly from 9 Mothers's careers page and normalized into a canonical job model.